Using and Contributing to DCNA’s Photobank

DCNA’s Photobank is the primary source for nature and conservation photographs in the Dutch Caribbean. The Photobank contains a wide selection of photos on a variety of themes for each island, including species profiles, landscapes and conservation in action.

Photographs are used to enhance the communication and outreach efforts of DCNA and its partner conservation organisations, including on their website and in social media (e.g. Facebook, Twitter and Youtube).

DCNA relies on the help of photographers to document nature and conservation work in the Dutch Caribbean. Contributors to the Photobank help promote the conservation of our beautiful islands while benefiting from great exposure. Below are a few important points to know before using and contributing to the Photobank.

Who can use the photographs?

The Photobank was created for use by Dutch Caribbean parks and nature conservation organisations. The general public can visit the Photobank and browse through thousands of beautiful nature photos taken on all of the six Dutch Caribbean islands. The Photobank provides security for downlaod, linkage and screen capture. Visitors cannot download, upload or delete photos, nor link to any of the photos in the database. Additional security can be added at the photographer’s request in the form of watermarks.

Searching and browsing photographs

The DCNA Photobank has seven main categories: six main categories sort out the categories by island (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Maarten) and a main category is established for DCNA activities. Within each main category, images are then sub-divided into galleries determined by the images’ central theme. A photographer can group all their photos for an individual island in a gallery by their name or choose to make several event galleries. In addition to browsing, the Photobank has a powerful search function that relies on keywords and captions.

To find photos you can either browse the galleries at your leisure or you can search using a keyword. The most popular keywords are listed on the homepage and can be clicked. You can also use the search box in the top right hand corner. Search all photos or within main categories or galleries.

Downloading photographs

Photographs that are downloaded from DCNA’s Photobank are for non-commercial use only (unless special permission has been given by the photographer). All associated nature conservation organisations must have signed a Terms of Use agreement prior to having access to the Photobank.

Photographer credit

The photographer must be credited in all publications in which the photograph is used. This credit will usually be within or next to the photograph, however in some cases to facilitate design and format, such as in a book or on a website banner, credit may be provided in a general location. Also, DCNA will not notify the photographer every time one of his/her photographs is used.

Who will use your photographs?

Your photographs will be made available to associated nature conservation organisations on the islands, and will be used strictly for nonprofit purposes for nature conservation, promotion of nature in the Dutch Caribbean and as part of nature education and raising environmental awareness. Use of photographs by other parties that are not linked to DCNA requires prior approval from DCNA and the photographer. Use of photographs for commercial purposes requires prior approval from DCNA and the photographer.

Terms of use

A contract is set up with each contributor to ensure clarity on what can and what cannot be done with images added to the database. Signing ‘parties’ jointly agree to DCNA hosting and using the photographs for nonprofit use, with appropriate credit always given to the photographer. By having accessibility to photos, DCNA may sometimes require to modify images by cropping or resizing them.

What will you gain from contributing photographs?

By contributing photographs to the Photobank, you will not only help promote nature conservation in the Dutch Caribbean, but you will also benefit from great exposure. Your name will appear with all of your images that are used, and you will have a personal photographer profile on DCNA’s website (currently in development) that highlights your achievements as a photographer. You will also have the opportunity each month to have one of your photographs selected as the “Photograph of the Month”; the chosen photograph will be prominently displayed on DCNA’s website and social media.

Photograph wishlist

We regularly update our Photograph wishlist so that contributing photographers have an idea of the specific images DCNA and its partner organisations are in need of. We currently looking for historical and people in nature photographs.

Contact or join?

If you have photos you would like to make available to the nature conservation organisations on the islands, strictly for non-commercial purposes and to promote the stunning nature of the islands, please contact the DCNA Photobank manager. If you are interested in joining or have any additional questions, also contact the DCNA Photobank manager at projects@dcnanature.org.